STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The money earned through Box Tops for Education usually adds up bit by bit, 10 cents at a time. But a first grade teacher at PS 16 in Tompkinsville hit the $25,000 jackpot.

"It’s like winning the lottery, except it’s for a bunch of kids who are really going to appreciate it," first grade teacher Hillary Zablocki said.

Over the summer, Ms. Zablocki entered the school into a sweepstakes online that could earn them 250,000 extra box tops — amounting to $25,000. In September, she learned her school was selected for the big prize, out of more than 700,000 entries nationwide.

"I went wild," she said. "I jumped out of my seat and went to tell my principal."

Staten Island's PS 16 wins $25,000 PS 16, with 93 percent of its student body living below the poverty level, wins $25,000 in a national sweepstakes from General Mills’ Box Tops for Education program.

Zack Ruderman, director of Box Tops for Education, presented the school with a giant check today.

"They can use it for anything they want, anything the school needs," Ruderman said.

The school — where 93 percent of students live below the poverty line — plans to spend the money on technology, something not all students have at home. It’s also something Ms. Zablocki has championed in her class, comprised of first grade boys with special needs.